The R553 is a Regional Route in

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

that connects

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

with

Vanderbijlpark Vanderbijlpark is an industrial town with approximately 95 000 inhabitants, situated on the Vaal River in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa. The city is named after Hendrik van der Bijl, an electrical engineer and industrialist. Vand ...

via

Lenasia Lenasia, often called Lenz, is a suburb south of Soweto in the Gauteng province, South Africa, originally created to house Indians. It is part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Lenasia is approximately 35 kilometres sout ...

and

Sebokeng Sebokeng () locally called Zweni by residents, is a middle-class township in the Emfuleni Local Municipality in southern Gauteng, South Africa near the industrial cities of Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging. Other neighboring townships include Evaton ...

. It is known as the ''Golden Highway'' for much of its length.

Route

Its northern terminus is an interchange with the M1 in the southern suburbs of

(southbound only). It heads south-west as the Golden Highway and forms an intersection with the M68 road (Columbine Avenue) in

Southgate Southgate or South Gate may refer to: Places Australia *Southgate, Sylvania *Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct, an area within Southbank, Victoria Canada *Southgate, Ontario, a township in Grey County * Southgate, Middlesex County, Ontario Ed ...

, west of

Southgate Shopping Centre Southgate Shopping Centre is a large shopping centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Southgate (just west of Mondeor) and is one of the ten largest shopping centres in South Africa, with over 160 commercial tenants. The centr ...

and east of

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

, before meeting the western terminus of the M38 road. Continuing south-west, it forms an interchange with the N1 Highway (which is co-signed with the N12). The R553 is parallel to the N1 from here for most of its length. From there, it passes through Eldorado Park (the south-eastern corner of

) in a south-westerly direction before it forms another interchange with the N12 National Route (which is now its own highway). From the N12 interchange, it exits Johannesburg to the south-south-west. It forms an intersection with the R554 road just east of

before reaching Lenasia South and bypassing Ennerdale. East of Ennerdale, it intersects with the R558 (which provides access to

Kanana Park Kanana Park is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region G of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local go ...

across the nearby N1 highway) before crossing back to the eastern side of the parallel N1 Highway next to the

Grasmere Toll Plaza Grasmere may refer to: Australia *Grasmere, New South Wales * Grasmere, Western Australia, a suburb of Albany Canada * Grasmere, British Columbia * Grasmere, Ontario New Zealand * Grasmere, New Zealand, in Invercargill * Lake Grassmere U ...

. It next meets the western termini of the R557 just after the N1 overbridge and the R551 at

Orange Farm Orange Farm ("Farma") is a township located approximately from Johannesburg in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. It is the southernmost township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Its name, a misnomer given that orange ...

before exiting the

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite services for the city. Z ...

and entering

Evaton Evaton is a township (South Africa), township north of Sebokeng, thats divided into three; Evaton Central, Evaton West (popularily known as "Mkhelele") and Evaton North, in the Emfuleni Local Municipality of Gauteng, South Africa. It was establis ...

and

. At Evaton, it is joined by the R28 and they are one road southwards through western Sebokeng for 9 kilometres. At the intersection with the R54 road, the R28 stops cosigning with the R553 southwards and begins cosigning with the R54 eastwards towards

Vereeniging Vereeniging () is a town located in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa, situated where the Klip River empties into the northern loop of the Vaal River. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was formerly si ...

, leaving the R553 as the road southwards. Next, the R553 reaches an intersection with the R57 (which takes over the name ''Golden Highway'') at the northern edge of

, with the R57 providing access to Vanderbijlpark Central and Sasolburg in the south-east. The R553 continues south-west from this intersection for 8 kilometres as Fred Dorste Road to end at a t-junction with the R42 Road west of Vanderbijlpark. (The R42 connects to

Parys Parys (pronounced ) is a town situated on the banks of the Vaal River in the Free State province of South Africa. The name of the town is the Afrikaans translation of Paris. The name was given by a German surveyor named Schilbach who had partic ...

)

References

Regional Routes in Gauteng {{SouthAfrica-road-stub